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Jump to navigationJump to searchDust Devils by Roger Smith (view source)
Revision as of 09:37, 14 September 2020
, 09:37, 14 September 2020no edit summary
Like all the best quest stories, it's littered with alternating success and failure and along the way, strongly held beliefs are challenged and must be given up if the end justifies the means. If.
The body-count is high. The tender moments are few. Which is not to say that there isn't a measure of love and human compassion in the most unlikely places. Smith lifts his work above the mediocre by making his players real human characters and not just plot devices. There are no dark nights of the soul lingering over the whys and wherefores of their actions, but the occasional pause for thought, or unconscious act, or deliberate reversion to type serves to underline the core of their motivations, while managing to colour it with kindness, or fear, or strength.
Fast-paced and often downright nasty, it won't be everyone's cup of tea, but I got caught up in the drama of it and cared about the outcome. Perhaps I shouldn't say that I enjoyed it: but I did.
I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag. We also have a review of [[Mixed Blood by Roger Smith]].
Further reading suggestion: For a less anarchic view of South Africa try [[Forgive Me by Amanda Eyre Ward]].
